Sunday , November 8

Please we are in the season I think of Thanksgiving although I noticed a neighbor of mine put up their Christmas tree the day after October 31st. So some people are already transitioning and some way to Christmas and yet we are in that season this month of November and which are our country has set aside a secular holiday to give thanks and and I point that connection out that it is indeed a secular holiday, but we are appropriating. Holiday as part of our religious observances are religious holidays and how strange that is. Usually you know, what we what we see practiced as Christmas for example Bears no resemblance at all to that which we Made in the Nativity Story and Easter what with the random rabbit that goes around giving candy and baskets resembles nothing like the story and the holiday that we celebrate at Easter. So it's about time maybe that we appropriate we take for ourselves what was intended to be a civil observance and that is the the observance of Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving is very much a part of our practices as a Community of Faith as people that are I like to use the word christ-followers instead of followers of Christ Christ followers because the word follow follows Christ, but as Christ followers our lives are supposed to be full of Thanksgiving and if you're participating in watching along with our Wednesdays with Wesley, you'll know that one of the Marks of the Methodist is that a Methodist rejoices always give thanks in all things. And so this is very much. I think inappropriate subject for us. So over the next 3 weeks, we will spend some time reflecting upon Thanksgiving in a sermon series that I've called. Thanks and giving and those are Thanksgiving is the combination of two words, but by breaking them up like we have I think we get some insight into what Thanksgiving should be all about. So our sermon text this morning is Alicia shared with you comes from Luke chapter 17 verses 11 through 19. This is the story of 10 lepers here. Now, the word of God Luke is riding. He says now on his way to Jerusalem Jesus traveled along the border. Between Samaria and Galilee as he was going into a village 10 men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice Jesus Master have pity on us. When he saw them, he said go show yourself to the priest and as they went they were cleansed. One of them when he saw he was healed came back praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus's feet and thanked him and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked we're not all 10 cleansed. Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this Foreigner. Then he said to him rise and go your faith has made you well the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Let us pray father God in heaven. We do. Thank you for this reading of your word and we pray almighty God that your Holy Spirit would speak to our hearts that you would be revealed to us that we would see and understand the nature of Thanksgiving this great and wondrous gift that we have been given the life that you have bestowed upon us that it can only be described as abundant. For all the many things that we have been given by you Lord we give thanks today. So we pray Lord that you're holy spirit with speed to our hearts that you would cultivate an attitude of gratitude with it. Ain't one of us that you would in your renewing Spirit renew our hearts that we may become like you for it is in Jesus name that we pray. I'm in. Well, as I mentioned a moment ago, we are obviously beginning a new sermon series called thanks and giving and this morning I would like through the story of the 10 lepers. I would like for us to look at the way in which people respond to the blessing that Jesus Christ gives them and we are doing this as part of a three week sermon series on how we can develop a heart of gratitude that intern also develops within each one of us cultivate in each one of us a a disposition of generous giving Because I believe thankfulness is not an occasional act but a lifestyle of intentional and spontaneous appreciation that leads us in the presence of God and empowers us to be grateful and all circumstances as it generates an overflow of generosity within us and so we are looking at this story that we call the parable not the parable the story of the 10 lepers this interaction that Jesus Christ had with 10 lepers and as we look at the text, I want to I want you to pay attention to some things that caught my eye now if I shared with you many times that I think it's important when you read the Bible that you have a journaling Bible or Bible that you're willing to mark up. I know I looked at the Bible last week online. That was a hundred. And $65 and I thought good Lord. Why would a bible cost that much what it was bound in genuine leather and and it has very special pages and and the text is fixed in such a way. Don't get one of those Bibles. Okay, get a Bible that you're going to use and when you read what I like to do is I like to Circle highlight and underline those phrases or words often time. I look for repetitions of words or something that surprises me when I read it or if there's some kind of prompting from the Holy Spirit. That's how I get into the word in and when I look at this scripture, let me show you some of the things that really stood out among my reading as I looked at these things now as we were reading this text, We get into verse 12 of our texts. And Brian I evidently don't have control. So if you'll bring up verse 12 for me, I appreciate it. Thank you, sir. It says as he was as he was going into a village 10 men who had leprosy met him. Here is what I highlighted they stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice Jesus Master have pity on us. Now. The reason that this stood out for me is because it seems that the words they stood at a distance seems kind of important and so I began to ask myself. Why is that? And if you're familiar with the levitical code of the Old Testament, you'll understand that there were specific prescriptions for those who were played with various ailments. One of which was leprosy leprosy not a very familiar illness for us today. But in that day considered to be quite contagious and so what we have here and sorry I had to chuckle when I read thread this we had New Testament account of people social distancing.

And here they are by law religious law. They are required to keep their distance. In fact, we are told that as they travel they are to yell at their loudest voice to anyone with inside of them, but they are in fact lepers.

Now thankfully we don't have to do that in our social distancing today. We just have to wear our masks, right? But here are 10 men, they're out. I assume and they perhaps were females among them. But there were 10 people afflicted by leprosy. They are considered unclean contagious and so they are separated from society and everyone around them but upon seeing Jesus and standing at a distance. They cried out not. Leper coming watch out for me. You might get what I got. Stay away.

No, they shouted. With loud voices Master have pity upon me.

and I I see that And the first thing that comes to mind and end this really is a point that I'll develop later in this series. But one of the things that I want to just mention as an aside for you. Is there are people that I'll have separated themselves from us? for various reasons

either they feel unclean or we have withdrawn ourselves from them or we have separated from them and they are at a distance and they are hurting and they are shouting have pity on me.

Can we will we hear them? Well as we continue looking we see that in fact Jesus does respond to them. He responds to them in verse 14 by saying to them that when he saw them I said go show yourselves to the priests and as they went they were cleansed.

So Jesus provided them they're healing he heard their need and their crime. And then is Alicia so appropriately shared with us. They all went on their way to do what was prescribed to go to the priest who would examine them and declare them clean and allow them permit them to reintegrate back into society, but one of those men When he saw that he was healed. We were eating verse 15. Jesus

As he told me he saw. And so we are told that he came back praising God in a loud voice and he threw himself at Jesus's feet and thank him and he was a Samaritan now. There's a whole lot going on in these two verses The first of which again remember I talk to you as soon as I look at text I start to highlight and things stand out and I noticed some repetition. Okay. When is the last time we heard someone saying something in a loud voice just a few versus back correct? That the lepers upon seeing Jesus at a distance cried out to him have mercy on us Master. They cried out in a loud voice and then we here we read again in verse 15 that one of them when he saw that he was healed came back and in the same loud voice. He praised God and thanked Jesus.

Hear me this morning. Can we be as the man who came and thanked Jesus.

We're real good at calling out and are loud voices out of our need an Darkrai? We're very good to know when things are getting rough. And and we don't know how we're going to survive from the next moment on we are fearful of eminent bad news. We are worried about whether we're going to survive or not. We are all too willing to call out to God in the loudest voice dear. God have mercy on me.

And we will shout it. to the heaven

But here this man one of 10. Who called out to Jesus in a loud voice have mercy on me seeing that he had received Mercy. with that same loud voice praise to God And thank him. Do you see how important that is?

Betty threw himself at Jesus's feet and thank him. And then when I want to mention I I said there's a lot going on in these two verses Luke and his particularly dramatic way. I'm convinced if Luke were alive today. He would not have written the Gospel of Luke or acts he would have in fact shot a two-part movie. He has such a great eye for a description and setting the scene and Cinema. He would have made an extraordinary cinematographer here. We have 10 people there suffering. They are told that they are healed go to present themselves to the priest one of them seeing that he was healed comes back to Jesus praise him in a loud voice. And then Luke Frozen. And he was a Samaritan.

I trust you're probably familiar with the way that Jews of the first-century thought of Samaritans. The language that they used was often very ugly. They used words like half breed. They they said they were unclean. They believe that they were lost and could never be redeemed and having once at some point early and their genealogy having been a part of the people of Israel have been left behind when the Babylonians came and conquered and carried back into Exile those to use those that remain didn't remain faithful to the god of Isaac Jacob and Abraham in the eyes of the Jew as they did when they were carried into exile.

In fact, one of the shocking things that we discover about their thinking of the Samaritans. Was that if you if you've ever got one of your Bibles that has a map and you see, you know, ancient Israel Lord Israel at the time of Jesus, you know, it's kind of divided into three states Galilee to the North and then below Galilee is Samaria and then below Samaria is Judea Jerusalem is in Judea Jesus spent most of his ministry in Galilee Galilee was a focal point of a lot of Jewish people. But of course they had to travel to Jerusalem in Judea to Worship in the temple.

And so it was their practice of many faithful juice that instead of going south as the crow flies.

They would travel across the Jordan River and go around the state of Samaria to enter into Jerusalem into Judea because they did not even want to have the dust of Samaria touch their feet and their clothes.

so in the eyes of the Jewish first century reader these for these five words and he was a Samaritan really stood out.

And so Jesus becomes quite surprised at what he sees. In fact, we read Jesus saying we're not all 10 cleanse. We're not where are the other nine has no one returned to give praise to God except this Foreigner. adopting for just a moment to contrast who was truly the faithful one that love God by calling him a foreigner.

This is an extraordinary story. And I think it's easy for us to understand and hear these words of Jesus as a rebuke against those who would receive the blessings of God and would not have an attitude of gratefulness and Thanksgiving in their hearts. I Think Jesus is reminding us that we are in a dangerous place. If you are spirits don't have an attitude of gratitude. So this morning? What I want to do is just very quickly develop sort of an outline for you. How can we cultivate an attitude of gratitude?

Well, I think the first way is that we have to be very intentional. We have to be very intentional. I was in a zoom call this past week doing some CEUs with the director of the United Methodist foundation and we were talking about gratitude. I think I mentioned some of this last week, but we talked about gratitude and how we need to be intentional about that that you know, very often we focus on those things those problems around us and we don't see those good things around us. And how do I know this? And he asked how do we know this and every single Pastor in that group was able to answer Joys and concerns. Y'all know what Joys and concerns are we don't do it here as a part of our worship service but a lot of churches will have a moment either in their Bible study or part of their worship where they say. Okay, we're going to have a time of joy and concerns. Okay. So does anyone have any Joys that they would like to share? Does anyone have any concerns that they would like to share? And I have never been in a situation in which the concerns didn't TimeWise outrank the joys by a hundred to one, you know. 101 maybe it's a bit extreme, but I'll stick with it. And here's why because I've been in a lot of those Services where we've had Joys and concerns and not a single Joy was shared.

now some of that is a lack of gratitude. I'm not so harsh. I think part of it is it's very easy for us to feel and respond to pain her need anxiety and so weak our bodies are already programmed to be able to how how to react in those situations it requires training. Requires training to be grateful having attitude of gratefulness. That's why we tell our kids every time I give a kid a sucker and my mama says what do you say say? Thank you for training the kids. Will it still remains true in our own spiritual life that we need to be intentional and train ourselves. And so we do this because it's just a product of our blessings and God Psalm 9:1 tells us that I will give thanks to you Lord with all my heart. I will tell of all your wonderful deeds and I think what we need to do is we need to spend some time in our own personal devotional life giving things.

so What I encourage you to do when and how you do this will be appropriate for you, but you might buy yourself one of those little Moleskine notebooks, you know little hardback journaling book and when you are doing your Bible study for the day, you might take a moment and jot down every single day three things that you were thankful for. And you said why don't I don't have to have a journal for that. Well, let me let me tell you why I encourage you to journal this. So when you jot down three things today and then here might be my list Lord. I'm thankful for my wife. Lord knows what I would do without her you giving me the most wonderful partner and friend that I could ever have. So I'll put number one Lori. And then number to I'll probably put Mary Elizabeth. She's my cheapest child right now. She's costing me the least amount so I might put Mary Elizabeth number 2. In the number three will be between Noah and Miriam depending on what Bill I paid that week for them. Okay. So this week Noah was real cheap. So I'm going to put Noah today, okay. Now I sit down for my devotional time and I open up my journal. I'm going to see I thank God for those three things now. I've got to think of three new things. Okay. Does Ian stop being thankful for those? Well, I guess Miriam might make this list. Okay, she might be number one. And the number to might be I don't know. I love fall and I love it when the leaves fall down. And I'm one of those strange folks Lori and I both are like this. We love leaves on the ground you folks that love to clean your yards up and make them all pretty and green. I know you hate us we lovelies on our yard Laura came home one day in the yard have been mulch then she could just went Cuz we don't get snow very often here. So she pretends like she's kicking snow when she's out there with the Lees and the dogs. So I love the color of the lie. So I might say Lord your creation. Today is just beautiful. Another thing might be the Lord. I got gumbo plan for supper tonight. And man. I'm looking forward to that. and then the next day three more things and what you'll find number one is your developing a pattern and Albert number to you begin to look for more things to be thankful for

And then at the moment particularly if you're talkin about people or relationships or situations that change they stand as a reminder of how you've been deeply blessed. I need to move along from that but be intentional in your Thanksgiving in showing your gratitude. Next thing I want to talk about is something that maybe kind of new for you. It's the idea of spontaneous Thanksgiving spontaneous Thanksgiving. Now this is this is what I try to do a lot. I try to when I'm riding down the street and I see a pretty tree I say Lord, thank you for the other night. We were in Oxford eating supper and I had a particularly good fried catfish and turnip greens real homemade turnip greens not from a can and I took a bite and Mary Elizabeth looked over me and I was going You know, it was so good. Don't let the Pentecostals be the only one celebrating Jesus out in the world will go to ball games and cheer. What's your Mississippi State fan this year or Dallas Cowboys fan or all the other teams that I like that are losing this year will go and cheer and celebrate that be spontaneous. Developing I for those wonderful things because one thing that we need to understand is ungratefulness leads us away from God's presence.

It does. I'm going to give you two examples and we've already read one of them. Tin Man were healed by Jesus. 9 did not express gratefulness. They go to the priest they leave Jesus. The Grateful heart came to Jesus Paul says in Romans 1:21 for although they knew God they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him but their thinking became futile and their foolish Hearts were darkened.

And we don't ever want to be led away from Jesus. So as we enter into this season of Thanksgiving may it be a time in which we intentionally? Thank God that we spontaneously thank God that we flee from ungratefulness and seek to cultivate an attitude of gratitude in our hearts. Because when we do, so it pulls us into the presence of Jesus. Let us bring father God. We thank you and praise you. lower